Heart of Darkness
by evansrachel2282
Summary: Damon Salvatore is a heartless, ruthless hunter of the worst kind-an assassin. However, his world is turned upside down, when he meets his next target, and for the first time, he is hesitant to pull the trigger...or is he?
1. Chapter 1

Damon Salvatore is a ruthless, heartless hunter of the worst kind-an assassin. However, when he meets his next target, unexpectedly, he finds himself hesitant to pull the trigger….

* * *

"Please god! No-Pl-please, don't! I'll do anything you want, just don't-" the woman's voice broke completely on a sob, and she covered her face with shaking hands.

The man's face, hidden under a black ski mask, was utterly devoid of any emotion as he raised his right hand, casually cocking the hammer of his gun, and checking to make sure he had screwed on the silencer. After all, guns were noisy things.

The woman had fallen to her knees, head bowed. As she heard the ominous _click_ of the gun, however, she raised tear-stained, mud- brown eyes to the cold, cerulean eyes behind the mask. "Please," she whispered.

He pulled the trigger.

* * *

Damon Salvatore flicked his bedside light on, and sighed in exasperation. It was no use. He never could sleep the night he'd carried out a hit. Whenever he closed his eyes, all he could see was his victims' last moments: the sounds of their desperate pleas, the dull thud their lifeless bodies made as they hit the ground, the way the anticipation would drain from his body, until all he could feel was weariness and an unnamable feeling of discontent. Almost like…guilt.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and chuckled grimly to himself. Assassins didn't feel guilt; they crushed guilt. It wasn't as if he were a rookie, after all. He'd been at this for five years now.

He could still remember his first hit- a girl by the name of Vicky Donovan. She had put up quite a fight, screamed, cried, and pleaded, until he'd had to pull the trigger just the shut the poor girl up. He'd also cried like a baby afterward. That was before he learned not to feel, to turn his humanity off completely. It was easier that way.

He must have dozed off in the midst of his morbid musings, because the sound of his phone ringing scared the crap out of him.

"What?" he growled into his cell.

"How did it go, mate?" the voice on the other end asked smoothly.

"Klaus, it's four in the morning, can't this wait 'til the morning?" Damon groaned, suppressing a yawn. His boss's timing really sucked.

Klaus's voice turned menacing. "I don't pay you six figures to sleep, _mate_, I want to know how it went tonight, _now!"_

"Just peachy, thanks, 'Damon replied sarcastically. 'Needless to say, Meredith Fell won't be able to testify against you next Thursday".

"Excellent," Klaus replied, " only one witness to go, and we're in the clear".

Damon was instantly alert. "What do you mean, 'one more'?" I thought this lady tonight was the last one".

Klaus sighed. "Unfortunately, the daughter of your first, er, assignments, the Gilberts, has come forward."

"What daughter? And how is she involved?" Damon's head was spinning. He really needed to crash, and here he was, chatting with his a-hole boss, at four in the freakin' morning!

"Apparently, the girl's parents were smart enough to clue their daughter in to some privy details. I didn't think she'd be a problem, but now she's changed her mind, and seems determined to put a damper on my plans." Klaus paused, and then went on in a different tone, "But you've had a long day, mate. We'll discuss the rest tomorrow. My office, ten sharp, Damon."

"Fine," Damon agreed.

The line went dead, leaving Damon to wonder what he was getting into now.

* * *

Klaus Mikaelson was one of the wealthiest and most influential businessmen in Chicago. He was also one of the most notorious mob bosses, who specialized in the smuggling of heroin and other drugs into the US and Mexico. Not that anyone in the white-collar business world he was a part of during the day knew that.

During the day, he was simply Klaus Mikaelson, handsome and successful CEO of Mikaelson Inc. that he ran with the assistance of his three brothers and sister. What did it matter that most of the Mikaelson wealth came from his other, more _illicit_ operations? (That's what Klaus reasoned to himself, anyway).

He had it all. That is, he did, until some of his primary investors discovered some of his nighttime deals, and issued a court case against him, suing him for millions of dollars. Basically, they forced him to take drastic measures. Now, he was almost free; only one more 'accident' and he'd be in the clear.

He stared down at the photo in his hand, the one he planned to give Damon the next day as a reference. Little Elena Gilbert. She really was a beauty, he noted.

Too bad she wouldn't be alive much longer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any part of the Vampire Diaries, or TVD, just the plot.**

**I'm super excited about the story, so I updated again. Let me know what you would like to see! I love reviews and honesty, so be brutal!**

**Special thanks to vamomoftwins for my first review, and to Lily Babi. Check out her story, "Love to Burn". It's fantastic!**

At precisely 9:59 AM, Damon paused outside the door of Klaus's office, adjusted his leather jacket, and grasped the polished silver doorknob. It was now or never. In all his years as a hit man, assassin, hired gun, whatever you want to call it, only one person managed to scare the shit out of him. And that person was currently waiting for him behind an impressive mahogany desk, with a silent smirk on his stubbly yet handsome face.

"Klaus," he greeted coolly.

"Damon," Klaus's smirk grew even wider. "Have a seat, mate."

Damon acquiesced silently, and lowered himself into a burnt leather chair opposite the desk. "So, I assume we're not here to discuss the latest marketing trends of Mikaelson Inc."

Klaus chuckled, and slid a manila folder across the desk to Damon.

"Here's all the info on Elena Gilbert. You know what to do."

Damon opened the folder, stopping suddenly when he saw the photo lying on top. Deep chocolaty eyes stared back at him, accented by gorgeous dark hair, and smiling white teeth. It was clearly part of a family photo, for there was someone standing just out of the camera lens that had been cut out of the shot.

"Quite a looker, isn't she?"

Damon started, realizing he'd been staring at the photo in near stupefaction.

"She looks like-" Damon's voice trailed off, as he was unexpectedly hit with a wave of grief.

Katherine.

Elena Gilbert looked an awful lot like Katherine. But Katherine was dead. Because of him…_No!_ With a jerk, Damon came back to the present, to find that Klaus was looking at him suspiciously.

"Looks like whom, mate?"

Damon shrugged, keeping his voice and face carefully blank. "Just a girl I knew a long time ago. But I suppose everybody starts looking like everybody eventually, in my line of work."

Thankfully, Klaus seemed to accept this, because he moved on.

"Anyhow, all her information is in there. I'll leave most of the details to you, of course, just make sure it's all neat and tidy by a week from Thursday."

"The trial date?" Damon guessed shrewdly.

For the first time in their meeting, Klaus looked tense. "Yes, that's right."

Damon opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sound of Klaus's phone ringing.

Klaus glanced at his phone, and seemed to wince slightly, as he read the name of the caller. "Incessant woman," he muttered.

"Lady trouble?" Damon asked cheekily.

Klaus scowled at him. "Not that you need be concerned with anything but Elena, that happened to be the DA Caroline Forbes calling. Incidentally, a good friend of Elena's,' then seeing the surprise on Damon's face added, 'they went to school together, read the folder."

Damon stood. "Are we done, then?"

Klaus stood too, and motioned towards the door. "By all means."

Elena Gilbert flew through the door of _Saltzman, Fell, Lockwood, and Forbes_ law offices, balancing a to-go cup of coffee in one hand, and a stack of legal depositions that nearly overwhelmed her slender frame in the other. She was supposed to give the Mikaelson depositions to Caroline by noon, and thanks to Tyler Lockwood's penchant for procrastination (he hadn't put any paper in the copier machines, again!), she hadn't been able to make the copies until now. She reached the elevator, and managed to push the Up button with her elbow, causing her to momentarily lose her grip on the stack of depositions.

"Crap!" she yelled, unable to do anything but watch helplessly as the papers began to teeter.

"Need some help?"

Elena looked up to see the smiling face of her boss, Alaric Saltzman, and sighed in relief.

"Yes, please, Ric."

Alaric took half the stack from her, and followed her into the elevator.

"Caroline has been paging you for the last hour for these," Alaric chuckled.

Elena rolled her eyes, and grinned up at her boss. "You know how the ongoing battle between man and machine is with Tyler."

Ric laughed. "Let me guess, the machine won?" Elena nodded and laughed with him. She was lucky to be interning at the law offices of her best friends Tyler, Alaric, and Caroline; she got along well with everyone. Well, most of the time.

The second Elena stepped off the elevator; Caroline hurried towards her, blue eyes stormy. "Where have you been, Elena? I've been waiting for you for two hours!"

"Sorry, Care, I-"

Caroline cut her off with an imperious wave of her hand. "Doesn't matter, you're here now, just bring them into my office".

Alaric handed his half of the papers back to Elena, mouthing 'Good luck' as he sauntered off to his own office. "Chicken," she whisper-yelled after him.

"ELENA!"

"Coming, Care!"

Elena hurried after Caroline's retreating back, amazed as always at how easily Caroline kept ahead of her in her five inch stilettos.

As soon as Elena had deposited the papers on Caroline's desk, Caroline motioned for Elena to stay while she hurriedly closed her office door.

"What's the matter, Care?"

"Have you read any of these depositions?" Caroline asked Elena.

Elena shook her head. "Only the ones involving the events of my parents' death, why?"

"Meredith Fell was murdered last night, Elena."

Elena's jaw dropped. "WHAT? But-b-b-but, that means-"

"You're the only probable witness left in the Mikaelson trial," Caroline finished grimly.

Elena collapsed into the nearest chair in shock. True, she had never particularly cared for Meredith Fell; she was snooty like all the Fells were, but still.

"I knew it wasn't a coincidence after my parents; this proves Klaus is guilty."

Caroline sat on the edge of her desk, and rubbed her forehead. She looked utterly exhausted.

"You would think, but he covers his tracks well. No evidence at the crime scene, no witnesses to identify the shooter, no nothing. Ultimately, no way to connect what happened with Klaus Mikaelson, CEO."

Elena shook her head numbly. She could still remember the night her parents died six months earlier…

_The Gilberts had just sat down to a late dinner when a quiet knock sounded at the back door that led into the kitchen. _

_"Now, who can that be at this time of night?" Grayson Gilbert asked, getting up from his place at the table. "Are you expecting anyone, dear?"_

_Miranda Gilbert shook her head, her glossy girls tumbling around her heart-shaped face. "Elena?"_

_Elena shook her head, lowering her fork._

_Grayson started to open the door, and then suddenly gave a cry, and tried to slam the door in the face of the person standing outside. He almost got it closed, but a black combat boot blocked his way._

_Grayson turned to look at his wife and daughter, who were sitting frozen in shock at the table. He whispered one word: "Run."_

_Before Elena could process what was happening, Miranda was propelling her forcibly from the kitchen, and down the hall into the study._

_"Mom, what's happening?" Elena was sobbing now. Miranda ignored her, running to the safe hidden behind the portrait of the Gilberts' ancestor, Jonathon Gilbert. She extracted a heavy manila folder, and to Elena's shock, a gun._

_"Here,' she thrust the folder at Elena, who automatically grabbed it, 'hide in the secret room behind the fireplace, and no matter what happens, keep this safe, and don't come out, no matter what you hear. Promise me."_

_"Mom-" Elena choked._

_"Promise me, Elena!" Miranda snapped. "There are some very bad people who might come for you, if they know you have this folder"._

_"I promise," Elena whispered. _

_Miranda smiled sadly at her only child. "I love you, Elena. Always remember that. Now go!"_

_"But what about you?" Elena asked. A resounding crash sounded from the hall._

_"I'll come for you when it's safe. GO!"_

_Elena had obeyed her mother, and hid in the crawl space behind the fireplace, clutching the folder to her heart. She had no idea how long she waited; she heard faint crashes, and what sounded like her mother screaming, and then silence. Horrible, deafening silence._

_Eventually, Elena had emerged from her hiding place, and found her parents' lifeless bodies covered in blood, mouths open in wordless terror. She never saw the killer, only the blood. So much blood…_

"Elena, are you all right?"

Caroline's concerned voice jolted Elena back to the present.

She looked at Caroline with tears brimming in her eyes. "I was just thinking about my parents, and how they deserve justice. All the victims do."

They'll get justice as long as I'm DA," Caroline nodded determinedly. "But we can't put Klaus and his thugs in prison without your testimony, and unfortunately, I think he's figured that out."

A pool of dread was forming in the pit of Elena's stomach. "What are you saying, Care?"

Caroline's eyes met Elena's solemnly. "I'm saying that I think you're next on Klaus's hit list, Elena."

TBC

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and for following the story! I love you guys! I know there hasn't been any Delena action yet, but I really wanted to set up the plot first. Don't worry, they'll have a run-in of sorts soon.**

**Reviews and follows=more updates…just cause I'm greedy like that.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Well?' Elena asked, turning away from her full-length mirror towards her best friend and roommate Bonnie Bennet, who was sprawled across Elena's queen-sized bed, 'how do I look?"

Elena was wearing a tight red bandage dress with black high heels, her hair was curled and swept to the side, and her makeup was perfect.

Bonnie grinned wickedly. "Smokin. Matt is going to die."

Elena's smile faded as she recalled her conversation with Caroline earlier that day. "I hope not, Bon," she said quietly.

Bonnie, who knew everything, stood up and gave Elena a quick hug. "Ok, bad choice of words, but you really do look beautiful. That dress I designed looks perfect on you." Bonnie was an aspiring fashion designer, and she knew what looked good on her friends.

"You have the magic touch," Elena laughed. Bonnie mock-curtseyed in acknowledgment.

Elena suddenly sobered. "Bonnie,' she began tentatively, 'what would you say if I told you that I'm going to break up with Matt?"

Bonnie's green eyes widened. "WHAT? WHY?"

Elena sighed, and sat down on her bed. Bonnie followed her after a moment.

"I just don't feel a spark with him,' she confessed, 'I feel as if we were better as just friends. I love him, but recently, I've realized that it's more like he's my brother than my boyfriend."

"Are you sure your decision doesn't have anything to do with the trial, and what Caroline said today?" Bonnie asked gently.

Elena gazed past Bonnie out of her bedroom window thoughtfully. "That does have something to do it,' she finally admitted, ' I can't risk putting Matt in any unnecessary danger; it's better if I'm not in a relationship right now."

"Are you sure you don't want police protection? Sheriff Forbes offered."

Elena laughed. It wasn't a happy sound. "Somehow, I think if a hired gun wanted to kill me, a couple of police officers wouldn't slow him down for long. He killed my parents, Meredith Fell, and the others…" Elena's voice trailed off.

Bonnie opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sound of a car horn blaring impatiently. Elena hurried to the window, lifted the sill, and poked her head out. "Coming, Matt!" she yelled, trying to suppress the flicker of irritation that rose in her at being _summoned. _In the old days, Matt would have rung the doorbell like a gentleman. Now, however, he didn't even bother to get out of the truck.

"I have to go, Bonnie," Elena rolled her eyes at her friend as another round of honking ensued. "Let him down easy, ok?" Bonnie asked softly.

Elena's eyes filled with tears, and the two girls hugged each other tightly. "Thank you, Bonnie, I will," she whispered, and started out of the room.

"Oh, and Elena?" Bonnie called after her.

Elena stopped and glanced back at her friend questioningly.

"Be careful."

* * *

Damon checked the address Klaus had given him for the tenth time, and pulled his black Range Rover, lights off, across the street from a white colonial-style house with green shutters. _Her _house. It was a nice-looking house, he noticed almost absent-mindedly, in a relatively nice suburb of Chicago. He glanced at the folder Klaus had given him the day earlier, the one he had gone through a dozen times since, and could most likely recite from memory.

He could see a light on in an upstairs window, and two shadows moving around inside. He grabbed his binoculars, and focused in on the window. Elena stood with her back to him, wearing an incredible red dress that emphasized her mouth-watering curves, spinning for another girl (who he recognized from the folder as being Bonnie Bennett, Elena's friend and roommate) who clapped her hands in delight, and said something that made both of them laugh.

Elena reminded him so much of Katherine when she laughed. He kept having to remind himself that Katherine was dead, and that this girl, _Elena_, he told himself sternly, was his target, and nothing more. Realizing he was daydreaming, Damon pulled his gaze back to Elena's bedroom window to realize with a start that she was staring directly at him!

Before he could move or think what to do, she'd pulled her gaze away from the window, and back to her friend. Damon studied them a moment longer, and felt himself relax. She hadn't seen him. She was completely focused on her seemingly intense conversation with her friend, and after all, there were no streetlights on this side of the road, and he was shrouded in complete darkness. He narrowed his eyes. In fact, it was a perfect place to stage the hit. The girl should know better than to be so isolated, so completely exposed to the dangers of the night. Dangers like him, for instance.

He had just decided that he'd done enough observing for one night when the roar of a diesel engine made him pause. He watched, unconsciously moving back further into the shadows of his seat, as a bright red truck pulled into Elena's driveway, and began honking loudly. Another movement caught his attention, then; Elena herself was leaning out of her window, her glorious hair spilling over her tan shoulder.

"Coming, Matt!" she yelled down to the truck. She sounded slightly irritated, Damon noted smugly. Another round of impatient honking began, and Damon curled his lip in contempt. Matt Donovan –he was in the folder, too.

All-American boy, won some fancy-schmancy football scholarship to Northwestern, and had been dating Elena for over a year now. Not the brightest Crayola in the crayon box, according to his record. Damon couldn't say much for Elena's taste in guys that was for sure. At least she had one flaw. He watched as Elena emerged from the house, and got into the truck. Making a split-second decision, Damon followed them.

Purely for observational purposes, of course.

* * *

Elena was bored.

After taking her to a French restaurant where he managed to mispronounce everything on the menu, Matt had insisted stopping in at his favorite bar, the Mystic Grill, 'just for a second'. Elena checked her watch for the umpteenth time, and nearly groaned when she realized they'd been there for over two hours now. It wasn't as if she had to get up early in the morning since tomorrow was Saturday, but still. To add insult to injury, Matt wasn't even paying any attention to her. He'd run into some of his college buddies, and they were currently having an important discussion about jock straps. Elena downed her third shot of tequila, and decided she'd had enough.

Sliding off her bar stool, she walked purposefully up to Matt, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Matt, I need to talk to you right now," Elena had to almost shout to be heard over twenty drunken football players.

"Just a minute, 'Lena," Matt didn't even glance in her direction.

Elena set her jaw. "No, Matt, NOW!"

Matt finally looked back at her in surprise. Elena never yelled at him, and she was wearing her stubborn face.

Finally realizing something was wrong, Matt let Elena lead him outside the bar to the parking lot. Leaning against a blue Honda, Elena folded her arms across her chest and met Matt's confused, and slightly drunk gaze.

"Matt, I want to break up," she said steadily.

Matt blinked. "Are you serious?"

"I've never been more serious in my life. I don't even know what this is, anymore, but it's not a relationship."

"Is this about the trial, Elena?"

Elena threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

Matt shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "That's all that's been on your mind these past few months since the funerals."

Elena thought about that for a moment. It was true she had been caught up at the office more and more recently with the impending Mikaelson case looming around the corner, and she had been distracted more than usual, lately. Had she been neglecting Matt, pushing him away?

"You're right,' she finally said softly, 'and I'm sorry if I've hurt you, Matt. I love you, I do, but I think breaking up would be for the best."

Matt nodded silently, and Elena realized he was fighting tears.

"Oh, Matt," she sighed, flinging her arms around him. He made no effort to resist her, and for a few minutes, they clung together, both knowing it was the last time for them as a couple.

Matt was the first to break away. "I think I'm going to head home. I'll drop you off."

Elena shook her head. "I want to be alone for a little while. I've got my phone, I think I'll just call a cab."

Matt protested, but Elena was finally able to convince him to leave her there. She watched him drive off, and waved until he was out of sight. Breaking up with him was harder than she thought it would be. After placing a call to the Cab Company, and texting Bonnie to let her know she'd be home soon, Elena settled down to wait.

While she waited, her thoughts drifted to the Mikaelson trial. Caroline's words still rang in her ears: "_You're the only probable witness left…I think you're next on Klaus's hit list." _If it were true, Elena thought to herself wryly, she probably shouldn't be alone outside the Mystic Grill like a sitting duck. Almost before she finished her thought, someone grabbed her from behind.

Elena only got out a muffled shriek before a sweaty hand clamped down over her mouth, and another hand gripped her waist and turned her around. Elena instantly recognized her attacker as one of the jocks that had been at Matt's table. He was well over six feet tall, and built like an ox. To make matters worse, he was clearly very, very drunk.

He leaned into her, grabbing her arm in a steel grip, with his other hand still over her mouth. Elena tried not to gag as his putrid beer breath clogged her nostrils, and petrified her further.

"Hey, pretty lady, your boyfriend leave you out here all alone?" the man slurred in her ear. "How's about we have our own party?"

Elena shook her head violently, and began to struggle, but it was no use. She couldn't move at all. To her horror, she realized the jock was slowly backing her up against a grey Toyota. In that moment, Elena knew she was going to be raped, but it was a distant thought. Her brain felt clouded and murky; it was hard to focus on anything, but the terrible feel of the man's hand over her mouth.

With one last act borne out of sheer desperation, she sunk her teeth into the man's hand. The man howled, and loosened his grip, stumbling backward. Elena saw her chance, and took it, running back towards the neon-lit entrance of the bar. _Where the hell was her cab? _ Her breath was coming sobbingly from between her lips. She was almost…there… and then she was being hauled backward again.

The man had regained his footing, and was pulling her back into the shadowy parking lot. She screamed and kicked, but he didn't seem to feel anything. "Thought you'd gotten away from me, didn't ya?' the man jeered, 'I like it better when they fight." Elena tried to bite him again, but he flinched away from her, and slapped her across the face so hard she saw stars. Dimly, she was aware of falling to the pavement, and the frenzied drunk flinging himself on top of her, and tearing at her coat. It was all over now, she thought dizzily…

Then, suddenly, miraculously, the weight of the man's body was gone. Elena heard a dull thwack as his body was slammed against a nearby car, and a low, furious voice swearing. Elena didn't hear the jock's voice again, and realized her rescuer had effectively knocked him out. He was laying a little ways away from her on the pavement, his face bloody and broken.

Through bleary eyes, Elena saw a figure standing over her, dressed all in black. She had a fleeting glimpse of a face like that of a demon, avenging angel with piercing blue eyes, and then the world spun, and everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you SO MUCH for all the reviews and follows! I am so overwhelmed at the response. It was much more than I expected. Anyhoo, as you're going to see, Damon did not shoot Elena when she was unconscious. Why? Hmmmm…what do you think :) **

**By the way, someone asked why Elena was a target. I plan to explain that more fully later on as well as some background into how Damon became what he became. There will be romance (and possibly other things) later on, but to keep it realistic, I'm going slowly. Things are about to get sticky, I promise. As an author, reviews are extremely helpful, so drop me a line, give me suggestions, whatever you want…gasp! There's even a button for that. Hee hee, I'll shut up now, and get on with the story.**

Crystals. Hundreds, thousands of crystals, shimmering and reflecting light. Elena could see facets of light everywhere, all over her body. Other than the crystals, she appeared to be surrounded in nothingness. Was she dying? She didn't think so, but she was fairly certain she was dreaming. Elena continued watching the crystals in fascination; she didn't seem to be able to speak, nor did she feel an urge to.

How long she stood there she had no idea. There was no sense of time in this dream, only a slowly growing awareness of waiting for something…or someone to come. Without conscious volition, Elena found herself slowly turning her head as if underwater. She felt no surprise or alarm when she saw the tall silhouette standing directly behind her veiled in darkness. He was who she was waiting for-wasn't he?

For the first time since the dream began, Elena felt a flicker of doubt and fear. She tried to clear her throat. It felt raw, but at least she was aware of her own voice now. Turning fully to face the phantom, she spoke to him (somehow she felt certain the apparition was male) directly, her voice coming out raspy and weak.

"I know you from somewhere."

"Yes." The answer came immediately in a low, deep voice.

"Who are you?"

She had a feeling the silhouette was mocking her. "Don't you know?"

Elena shook her head mutely in denial.

"Liar."

Instantly, Elena's doubt and fear vanished, and a spark of anger flashed in her eyes. She took a step nearer to the phantom. "If I'm a liar, then you're a coward,' she ground out, 'you won't even come out of the shadows to show me your face. Why don't you come into the light?"

"I can't," was the reply.

"Why?"

"Because I've chosen to shroud my heart in darkness from which there is no escape."

Elena felt a sharp pang of sympathy for the phantom. "The light always beats the darkness; you just have to let it in," she whispered, beseeching him.

"No!" the phantom was distancing himself from her now, trying to retreat further into the shadowy nothingness.

Recklessly, Elena moved even closer to the darkness, trying to see something, _anything_ that belonged to the voice. Suddenly, two eyes blazed at her in the darkness. Piercing, cerulean eyes.

Elena gasped, and fell back. Awareness was slowly dawning on her. "You rescued me." It came out sounding more like an accusation rather than a question.

The apparition laughed. It was a haunting sound. It filled the nothingness, and shook Elena to the core, until she was gasping for air. The laughter didn't cease, but continued, until all the crystals in the room were vibrating. The crystals began to crack, and fall all around Elena, slowly leaving Elena in complete black nothingness.

She screamed and begged the voice to stop, and then everything was spinning, and she felt a sharp pain in her head. Strangely enough, she heard a different voice, a familiar voice, calling to her. If she could only remember…

"Elena! Elena, can you hear me? Wake up, you're dreaming!"

Elena slowly opened her eyes, and squinted as bright sunlight hit her square in the face. With a start, she realized she was lying in her own bed, wearing her favorite nightgown with lace down the front. Bonnie was peering down at her with worry etched in her face. Elena tried to sit up, but fell back with a gasp as pain flooded her body. Her hands flew to her head, which hurt unbearably.

"Don't try to move around too much,' Bonnie chided her gently, 'you have a slight concussion. The doctor said to stay quiet for a couple of days."

"What happened?" Elena's voice sounded weak even to her own ears.

"Do you remember anything that happened last night?"

Elena tried to ignore the pounding in her head, and focus her thoughts.

After a few moments, she said hesitantly, "I remember going out with Matt-"

Bonnie nodded at her encouragingly, urging her silently to go on.

" He took me to the Mystic Grill. I had a couple of shots, I was bored, I told Matt I wanted to talk to him outside, we broke up, and he left-" Elena's voice died, as she tried to piece together in her fuzzy mind what had occurred after Matt's departure.

Bonnie seemed to understand her difficulty, and waited patiently for Elena to continue. "Do you remember texting me?" she asked finally, when it became apparent Elena couldn't go on without help.

Elena thought about that for a minute. "Yes, I think so,' she mused, 'I called a cab to come get me; I wanted to be by myself, and then-' Elena's voice changed, as she recalled the horror of being grabbed from behind by the jock. "One of Matt's college friends tried to force himself on me in the parking lot."

Bonnie's eyes widened. "Oh my god, Elena, did he-"

"Almost," Elena replied grimly. "He hit me, and I must have fallen, and hit my head, somehow, that part's still blurry. I remember him being on top of me, and then…"

"And then what?"

"And then he wasn't anymore. Someone helped me. I don't think I saw his face, but he was dressed all in black, and he had the bluest eyes, angel eyes." Elena's voice had turned dreamy. However, she sobered when she remembered those same cold eyes she'd seen in her dream.

"Ok, I think you need some more rest." Bonnie began fussing with Elena's blankets.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

Bonnie sighed, and looked Elena straight in the eye.

"I don't know what I believe,' she admitted, 'all I know is that I found you on the porch completely out of it, with a lump the size of the Grand Canyon on your forehead. For a second, I thought you were dead."

At the pain in Bonnie's voice, Elena reached for her friend's hand. "But I'm not dead."

"But you could have been,' Bonnie pointed out, 'Klaus could have just had one of his thugs kill you, and nobody would have been able to save you in time." She shook her head tears streaming down her face. "I've talked to Caroline and Alaric, and they've arranged 24-hour police protection for you until after the trial. Caroline said to think of it as witness protection."

Elena wanted to argue with Bonnie, but her head hurt, and all she felt like doing now, was sleeping. She never noticed Bonnie tucking her in and slipping out of her room. She had already drifted off into a restless slumber filled with dreams of a certain pair of blue eyes…

Any employee of Mikaelson Incorporated, from the lowliest secretary or intern, to the chief executive officers (most of whom were Klaus's siblings), could tell you when Klaus was in a bad mood. It wasn't necessarily that he yelled, or threw things, or gave out pink slips at random (although he occasionally did all of these things). No, the telltale sign of the CEO's anger was subtler. He paced.

He was pacing now, up and down, up and down, clenching his phone in one hand, and his fist in the other. His secretary had just called him on the intercom to inform him that a certain Ms. Caroline Forbes was requesting a meeting with him immediately. Klaus did not fear many people; however, if he was perfectly honest with himself, the perky blonde district attorney ranked just under his father on the short list of people he feared. And his father was #1 on the list.

When Caroline walked into his office in a smart black suit and red heels, however, it was to find a seemingly unperturbed Klaus leaning back in his desk chair with a glass of Scotch held in one hand carelessly. He rose at her entrance, offering her a charming smile, which she did not return. "Won't you have a seat, Ms. Forbes, and then you can tell me to what I owe the pleasure of your company."

Caroline harrumphed, and sat. "Frankly, Mr. Mikaelson, I-"

"Please, call me Klaus," he interrupted her.

Caroline gave him a withering look that would have felled a lesser man, and continued, and merely served to amuse him. "Frankly, _Mr. Mikaelson, _I'm not here to exchange pleasantries, so you can cut the crap." Klaus raised an eyebrow at this, but she didn't give him a chance to interrupt her again.

"I'm here on behalf of my colleague Elena Gilbert, ironically the only witness left alive in your case. As I'm sure you've heard, Ms. Gilbert was attacked last night by a quote unquote, 'drunken jock' who tried to rape her."

Klaus looked genuinely astonished, but Caroline wasn't buying it. She knew what he was capable of.

"I had no idea,' he said smoothly, 'I certainly hope she's all right."

"She will be, thanks to an anonymous rescuer, and certainly no thanks to you."

Something flickered in Klaus's eyes, but was gone before Caroline could be sure she'd even seen anything. "An anonymous rescuer," he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, he was back to his old self, flashing another cheeky grin at her. "And what does all this have to do with me, pray tell?"

Caroline's sapphire eyes narrowed at him searchingly. "I'm just here to inform you, Mr. Mikaelson, that should anything happen to my witness before the trial date, I'll have you held on suspicion of illegal activity."

Klaus's jaw tightened. "Are you accusing me of attempted murder, Ms. Forbes?"

Caroline smiled mockingly at him. "Why, my dear Mr. Mikaelson, who said anything about murder?" She leaned across the desk toward him, her voice lowering dangerously, "However, we both know why Elena's testimony is so vital to this case. We wouldn't want anyone to think you have anything to hide, would we?" Klaus knew she was baiting him, and replied pleasantly, taking out his tension on a letter opener he held underneath his desk. It snapped in two. Much like his nerves were beginning to.

Damon went where he usually went when he wanted to relieve stress: the sheriff's range. He took out his pent-up frustrations on the targets, putting each bullet where he wanted it to go. No matter how many targets he obliterated, no matter how many rounds of bullets he went through, he couldn't block the images of last night out of his mind. He still felt white-hot rage when he envisioned Elena, battered and bruised, with that drunken piece of trash on top of her. And anger was a dangerous emotion; it meant that for the first time in years, he actually _felt _something. Even worse, he couldn't forget how she'd looked at him right before she blacked out. Katherine used to look at him like that when she was feeling afraid, and was seeking him for protection.

He still wasn't sure why he'd saved her. It would have been better to kill her right then and there, and be done with it. But the noise from the fight had attracted a small crowd from the bar, and he couldn't risk it. At least that was what he told himself. In reality, there had only been a couple of stragglers who'd taken any notice, and he doubted whether they would remember anything at all, considering how they'd stumbled to their respective cars.

Instead, he'd carried Elena to her cab, which had arrived soon after the commotion, given the driver her address after explaining that she'd had too much to drink, and laid her gently on the seat. He'd also followed the cab to make sure his instructions were carried out. He only left when Bonnie opened the door after the harassed cabbie rang the bell, barely holding up a still-unconscious Elena.

Damon's phone buzzed, and he groaned as he read the caller ID. He'd been avoiding Klaus all day; might as well get the inevitable over with. "Yes, Klaus?" he answered, feigning a calm he didn't really feel.

"We have a problem, mate."

"Name it."

"You know I usually leave such matters to you, but in this case, you're going to have to move up the hit on Elena Gilbert."

"When?"

" Tonight."

TBC

** Thanks again for reading! Next chapter, things are going to heat up!**

**Damon and Elena just might meet face-to-face (without Elena being unconscious)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to all who are still reading this story!**

_Choose your last words_

_This is the last time_

_Because you and I_

_We were born to die_

_ -Lana del Rey_

* * *

"Tonight!" Damon repeated the word almost stupidly. "Why the rush, all of a sudden?" Damon heard a crash in the background, and wondered what expensive bottle of bourbon (Klaus's favorite vice) had just been wasted at the expense of Klaus's temper. When Klaus answered, his voice was full of barely suppressed violence.

"I had a meeting with the district attorney today who informed me that Elena Gilbert met with an unfortunate incident last night, then was rescued by some _anonymous person_!' Klaus put special emphasis on the last two words. 'Care to share your thoughts?"

Damon swallowed hard. This wasn't good.

"Sounds like someone else is trying to do my job for me," he answered, trying to sound flippant.

"Let's just hope he doesn't beat you to it. You can still be replaced very easily in this operation, Damon," Klaus's voice sent a shiver down Damon's spine. He knew that Klaus would kill him in a second if he suspected Damon of trying to double-cross him. A sudden thought crossed Damon's mind.

"You still haven't answered my question, Klaus. Why the rush? I haven't even completed surveillance on the girl yet."

Klaus exhaled sharply into the phone, his attention momentarily diverted, just like Damon hoped. "Ms. Forbes has threatened me with being held on suspicion of illegal activity should anything further happen to Ms. Gilbert before the trial."

"So you want me to kill her, so you can go to prison?"

Klaus laughed. "Hardly. But tonight is the Policemen's Ball, and I happen to know that nearly the whole city is planning to attend, including the lovely DA and myself. I'll have the perfect alibi if Elena meets with an unfortunate accident tonight. After all, with her having a concussion like she does, it should make your job that much easier, and help to avoid too many questions."

The hunter in Damon could follow the logic in Klaus's argument, but the rest of him didn't like where this was heading at all. He needed time to get her out of his system after last night, and now, the choice was being taken away from him. "I don't like this, Klaus, this is getting messy," Damon finally replied.

"If you had just done your job, we wouldn't be in this situation," Klaus snarled.

No, Damon thought to himself, if you weren't such a greedy, tyrannical, pain-in-the-ass, we wouldn't be in this situation, and I wouldn't have to kill people that don't deserve to die! Of course, he couldn't say any of those things to Klaus, and he-

Wait. Did he just say 'people that don't deserve to die'? Good god, what was happening to him? He was cracking up, getting soft, allowing emotion to cloud his judgment, just because some dame happened to resemble Katherine, of all people. _Katherine. _His heart hardened. "I'll do it," he found himself replying.

"Good." Klaus sounded pleased.

"Is that all?"

"One more thing-Elena is in possession of some vital information-Ms. Forbes said as much today-that could harm me. If it's what I think it is, it should be in a manila folder with the company emblem on the front. Get it."

"What's inside?" Damon _really _didn't like where this was heading now. He was an assassin, not some messenger boy.

"That's not your concern. Just bring it to me when you've disposed of Elena Gilbert. I'm willing to double your usual rate."

Damon was glad Klaus couldn't see him right now. He was fairly certain his jaw was hanging to the floor. Whatever was in this folder, Klaus was sure desperate to get his hands on it. He was usually stingy when it came to salary negotiations.

"Done," Damon said quickly before he changed his mind, or worse, before Klaus changed _his _mind. He was about to hang up, when Klaus's voice made him pause.

"Don't disappoint me, mate. Do it tonight."

The line went dead, leaving Damon to wish he had an expensive bottle of bourbon at his disposal. At the moment, he felt like smashing something.

* * *

"I left your pills on the kitchen counter, make sure you eat something before you take them…oh, that reminds me! I made some chicken salad for you today. It's in the fridge. Caroline, Tyler, and Alaric are going to that ball thingy tonight, but they all have their cells with them, so just call them if you need anything, the police car is sitting right outside, oh! I wonder if I –" Bonnie rambled on, but Elena wasn't listening. Her friend had been fussing over her for the last hour and a half, and she simply didn't have the energy to keep up with her anymore.

Finally, Bonnie paused in her monologue long enough to realize that Elena had ceased listening to her. "Elena, have you even heard a word I've said?"

"Bonnie,' Elena began calmly.

"Yes?"

"If you don't leave to fill my prescription RIGHT NOW, you won't have to worry about someone killing me while you're gone; do you want to know why?"

"Elena-"

"Because I'll kill myself right here and now."

At the wounded expression on Bonnie's face, Elena burst out laughing. "Go, Bonnie, I'll be fine. I've got armed guards outside, after all."

Bonnie chewed her lower lip, clearly debating whether to go ahead to the pharmacy, or stay, and risk witnessing a suicide.

"I do need the pills for my head, Bon." This settled the matter, and after a few more frenzied instructions, Bonnie finally left, promising to be back within the hour.

Elena settled back more comfortably against the tower of pillows Bonnie had propped up behind her headboard, and halfheartedly turned the TV on. Despite Elena's protests, Bonnie had nevertheless had her boyfriend Jaime carry the downstairs television up to Elena's bedroom so Elena wouldn't get too bored, as she had been ordered by the doctor to spend most of her time in bed until her headache went away. She clicked around aimlessly for a while, finally settling on some reality show about people living in swamps. Eventually, her eyes started to droop, and she had almost dozed off, when she was startled by the sound of her cell phone ringing.

Groaning in protest, Elena saw that it was Caroline, and knew that if she ignored her, Caroline would just keep calling until Elena picked up. After all that had happened, she didn't want to worry her friends unnecessarily. "Yeah, Care, I'm fine," Elena answered, stifling a yawn. "How's the ball going?"

"Ugh, Klaus is here, need I say more? Thank god Tyler and Ric are here to stop me from telling that motherfucker where he can stick his charitable donation. On the plus side, the champagne is delicious, and I plan to get crazy drunk."

"Go get 'em, Care!" Elena laughed.

"How are _you_ doing, though?" Caroline asked seriously.

"My head still pounds a bit, but I feel much better. The pain pills are helping. Bonnie ran out to fill my other prescription."

Caroline's voice turned anxious. "Do you need me to come over?"

Elena shook her head, belatedly realizing that Caroline couldn't see her. "No, that's ok,' she said aloud,' she should be back any minute. Besides, you should stay and keep an eye on Klaus."

"More like he keeps an eye on me, ' Caroline groaned, 'he keeps watching me. I don't like the way he looks at me."

"He has good taste, at least," Elena grinned.

Caroline huffed, but Elena could tell she was pleased at her friend's comment.

They chatted about the ball for a few minutes, until Caroline was called away by Tyler. "I have to go, I'm not supposed to have my phone right now. Some stupid technology-free rule they have here. Call me if you need anything, I smuggled my phone in. I'm _coming, _Tyler!"

"Bye," Elena giggled, but the connection was already broken. She hung up, and glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. Bonnie should have been back by now. Oh well, it was a long drive to town and back, and traffic was probably horrible. Still, Elena couldn't shake off a slight feeling of unease. After checking in with the policemen who were still posted outside the house, she decided to brave the walk downstairs to take her pills, and get something to eat.

Gingerly, she made her way downstairs. The house was dark and silent. It was really creeping her out. Stop it, Elena, she told herself sternly. You're letting your imagination run away with you. Finally reaching the kitchen, Elena fumbled along the wall for the light switch, letting out a gasp when her fingers brushed against something clammy. Quickly, her heart hammering, she groped for and found the light switch. Bright light flooded the kitchen, revealing the cause of her alarm to be…. a dressmaker's dummy. Figures. Elena almost laughed aloud. Bonnie was always leaving the thing sitting around in the strangest places.

Hastily, she ate some of the chicken salad Bonnie had left for her, washing it down with her medication. For some reason she couldn't explain to herself, all she wanted to do was get back to the safety of her bedroom as soon as possible. Grabbing bottled water from the fridge, Elena began to make her way back down the hall towards the stairs. I should call Bonnie, and see where she is, she thought to herself, realizing she had left her phone on her nightstand. She had just reached the stairs when a muffled thump made her pause. It came from the back of the house, towards the living room. "Bonnie, is that you?" she called softly. There was no answer.

Fighting down the panic that was creeping over her, Elena cautiously made her way towards the direction the sound had come from, stopping first to grab an umbrella from the stand by the stairs. Another muffled thump sounded, and Elena paused, her heart nearly beating out of her ribcage. "Hello?" she wavered, the fear in her voice evident to her own ears. She had almost reached the living room by then, when there was a crash directly behind her. Elena whirled, thrusting the umbrella in front of her defensively, but she all she glimpsed was an empty hallway. Was she having delusions now? Elena was beginning to doubt her own sanity. Putting a hand to her now-throbbing head, she made her way back to the kitchen, the umbrella dropping forgotten to the polished wood floor. She reached the kitchen without incident, and opened the freezer for a cold compress. Elena hadn't bothered to turn on the kitchen light this time, and the only light in the room came from the small bulb in the fridge.

Elena was reaching for the compress when a shadow stepped directly into the path of the sliver of light. The compress fell from her nerveless fingers, and slowly, like in a horror movie, she turned around to face the blackness. It was_ him_. The man who had haunted her dreams, the man perpetually hiding in the shadows, the man who for some inexplicable reason, had saved her last night from the drunken advances of her attacker. Elena felt the breath whoosh out of her. She couldn't move.

He stood silently in the shadows, watching her, his blue eyes glittering in the dark like a cat's. Cold, cruel eyes, exactly like the ones in her dream. They stood staring at one other. Elena found she couldn't keep her eyes from his. How long they stood there staring at each other she had no idea, until a small _click!_ startled her into looking away from his eyes down what she could see of his body to the flash of silver he held in his hands. Funny, it looked like a –oh god. Elena's breath hitched. He was holding a gun, no pointing it, directly at her. Elena raised her eyes, now wide with fear, back to his, to see that he was now smiling at her, a smile that made her tremble. It was the smile of a hunter who knew he was about to capture his prey.

"Hello, _Elena. _"

TBC

**Cliffhanger! Until next time, my lovelies…**


	6. Chapter 6

**To all who have taken the time to follow this story, write a review, or even viewed merely out of curiosity, THANK YOU! You keep me going, and put a smile on my face. As soon as I figure out how, I will try to thank you all directly. Hope everyone's new year's was as awesome as mine was. My grandmother stuffed me so full of sauerkraut and ribs I literally couldn't move for an hour, and ended up falling asleep with my puppy instead of finishing my chapter. Oops! Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

Elena felt no surprise at the fact that this mysterious, gun-toting man standing before her knew her name. This was the man who had most likely followed her for lord knows how long, had invaded her dreams, and then, strangely, saved her from being raped. He was obviously working for Klaus; who else would have forced such a disturbing person into her life, or placed her in the situation she now faced? At this point, she would have been more surprised if he didn't know her. As it was, these thoughts were humming only at the very edge of her mind; she was functioning purely on adrenaline now, a fight or flight instinct taking over her. She never let her eyes waver from his face, or more importantly, the gun clenched tightly in his right hand, flashing silver in the moonlight, the only light available to her at the moment. Carefully smoothing her face into what she hoped was an expressionless mask, she tried to subtly shift towards her left, towards the garage. It was her only apparent means of escape, considering that _he _was blocking her only other exit.

Even while she moved, Elena knew her efforts were fruitless. He was lethal; anyone with eyes could see that. He moved sinuously, like a black panther coiled to spring, mirroring her movement with a subtle shift in stance. She would have admired the natural grace of his movement if he weren't, you know, aiming a 50-caliber at her heart. Her only hope now was to somehow distract him long enough to alert the police outside. Preferably _before _he pulled the trigger.

"Mind if I turn on a light? It's quite dark in here." Elena was pleased at the sound of her voice. It sounded calm, collected, rational even.

If he was surprised at her request, he didn't show it. "I prefer the dark, but if you must, then, by all means, " his voice was as cold as his eyes. Then, as she tentatively reached towards the light switch on the wall, he added softly, "and I wouldn't try anything if I were you." Suppressing a shiver, she nodded without looking at him, and flicked the switch, flooding the kitchen in bright, fluorescent light. A reckless, desperation-filled idea flashed across her mind.

After being in nearly pitch-blackness for so long, Elena knew that it would take both of them a few seconds to adjust to the bright light. Those few seconds of temporary blindness were her window of opportunity.

She had lived in this house her whole life; she could navigate it in her sleep. There, she might have him at a slight disadvantage. Even as she finished flicking the switch, Elena was moving, throwing herself to the left with all the force she could muster, her eyes frantically trying to adjust to the sudden change in light. To her immense relief, she had judged the distance accurately, and her hand was already on the door that led into the garage. Her fingers grasped the doorknob, she heard him hiss and move across the room towards her; and then, she was in the garage, frantically groping in the dark for the garage door opener. If I survive this, I'm never going anywhere without a flashlight ever again, Elena thought to herself grimly. If she could only find...a little to the left…too far…there, she had it! Elena felt the cool button under her fingertips for a moment, and then she was being tackled from behind. She hit the floor with a sickening crunch, slamming her chin against the concrete floor. Pain flared intensely at the point of contact, and spread to her tender head, until she felt like screaming at the agony of it. However, that proved to be impossible, because on top of it all, the wind had been knocked out of her by the force of the tackle, and her none too soft landing. She had been wrong; he wasn't any avenging angel; he was the very devil himself.

She began hacking, feeling blood well up on her chin, and dripping down her front. Black spots were dancing in front of her eyes. Then, as if fate weren't cruel enough already, a velvety voice began snarling, actually _snarling, _in her ear. Loudly.

* * *

Damon wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. It was stressful enough having to shoot the two pathetic excuses of policemen sitting outside _her _house (two more bodies at this point complicated matters); they'd been so busy playing some sort of card game that they hadn't even heard him walk up to their car until it was too late. Some protection. His grandma could probably handle a gun better than they could have. But, the policemen weren't his concern-in fact, he'd forgotten about them the moment he'd managed to pick the lock on one of the side windows of the house. His entrance would have been faultless if it weren't for the stupid potted plant that had been placed directly beneath the window. Not only had he literally soiled his favorite black combat boots, but his landing had made enough noise to alert _her _of his presence in the house. Damon cursed himself for making such a common mistake. This whole operation was falling apart; it had been from the moment he'd come face-to-face with his doe-eyed target. He never should have let her turn on the stupid light, his instincts should have known she'd try to run. Elena Gilbert was only human, after all. Now, he was standing over her in the dimly lit garage, watching as she struggled to get her breath, vaguely realizing he was losing control of his emotions, emotions he shouldn't be having at this stage in the game. Why did the fact that she was bleeding, that he had hurt her and added to her pain, gnaw at his insides? What was wrong with him? He had to kill her; surely, hurting her in the process was a given. It always had been before. He didn't know what to do, so he did the only rational thing that he could think of: he lost his temper.

Grabbing Elena's arm roughly, Damon hauled her to her feet, swearing in her ear the whole time. She had gotten her breath back by this time, and was quailing under his fierce grip, although surprisingly, making no effort to turn her face away from his. What Damon failed to realize in his anger was that this was the first time Elena was seeing his face full on. She was startled to say the least at how good-looking he was. He had ebony hair that was just a little too long, high cheekbones and a strong jaw that merely served to accentuate his perfectly sculpted mouth, which was currently cursing her with all the gusto of a seasoned truck driver, and a finely muscled body. And those shocking blue eyes, of course. Those same eyes were currently glaring down into her brown tear-filled ones with unadulterated fury. She probably shouldn't have run. As if he knew what she was thinking, he echoed her words menacingly: "You shouldn't have run."

Never letting go of her arm, he dragged her across the garage, backing her against the far wall. He cocked his gun, and pushed it in her face. "Now,' he said, enunciating each syllable, 'we're going to have a little talk. I'll ask the questions, you answer the questions. Understand?" Elena managed to nod her head once, jerkily, her eyes once again pinned to the gun he held.

"Good. Now, you have something I want, a manila folder belonging to Mikaelson Incorporated, incidentally. Where is it?"

Elena felt a semblance of reason return to her. So, Klaus knew about the folder. Her mother's words flashed across her brain, "_There are some very bad people who will come for you, if they know you have this folder." _Her mother had been right. In fact, her mother's killer was standing right in front of her. At the thought, Elena's head snapped up, and she met the blue eyes defiantly. She'd never give Klaus what he wanted; he'd already taken too much from her. "No!" the word came out of her almost reflexively. She expected him to kill her for defying him, or hit her, or something. She didn't expect him to throw back his head and laugh at her.

"You're all the same,' he chuckled humorlessly, returning his gaze to hers, 'little tiger cats with claws, spitting and scratching. When the time comes, you'll beg and plead for your life like all the others. It doesn't matter, anyway. I'll find the folder whether you're dead or alive. But, since I'm in a bit of a hurry, I'd prefer to do it while you're still alive. Your choice."

Elena shook her head at him even as a thought struck her. Nothing else had worked, or probably would work. He was too strong for her it was true. It was a revolutionary idea, but what had she to lose? Just her life. She sent a silent goodbye to all her family and friends. She hated to cause them any pain. Caroline, Ric, Tyler, Bonnie, they were her family. _Goodbye. I'm sorry for what I'm about to do._

Shoving her thoughts aside, Elena came back to the present with a snap. Although it had felt like hours, her musings had flashed through her tired mind in a matter of seconds. She drew herself up to her full height of five feet five inches, and spoke just as coldly and slowly as the man facing her had moments ago.

"You're right. It is my choice, isn't it? Not yours, not Klaus's, not anybody's but mine. And I choose to say no to you bullying me into giving you the only thing that can put your monster of a boss in jail. So, go ahead. Kill me. "

To Elena's astonishment, the hand on her arm let go. He was backing a little away from her now, the gun still aimed at her heart, his eyes turning wary. Encouraged, she moved forward, towards him, relentlessly continuing her speech.

"What are you waiting for? Kill me! I'm not going to beg, plead, or fight you. We both know I'm no match for you, so just get it over with." He was still backing away from her, trying and failing to tear his gaze away from her eyes.

"Stop,' he ground out, his finger going to the trigger, 'don't come any closer."

Elena didn't listen. Her voice turned mesmeric.

"I want you to look me in the eye, and shoot me. That's what you came here for, what _he _sent you here for, isn't it? Do it, I say, DO IT!" She was shouting at him now, urging him on with a twisted sense of triumph, of victory. Looking in his eyes, she sensed a change in his mood, in his fathomless eyes. Almost like glass shattering.

The gun dropped to the floor with a clang that made them both jump. In three strides, he had reached her, his hands clasping her shoulders in a steel grip. He shook her back and forth, until Elena was unsure which way was up.

"Stop it, do you hear me, stop it!" his voice was hoarse, and somehow frightened her more than when he cursed her. She was helpless as a china doll in his arms. "Don't you dare look at me like that, mock me, tell me to kill you, like-" his voice broke off, and he stilled suddenly. They stared at each other again, both breathing hard. "Goddamn you, Katherine!" he swore suddenly, and then, before Elena could struggle, he lowered his mouth to hers.

* * *

The Fifteenth Annual Policemen's Ball was in full swing, and Caroline was making good on her promise to Elena. She was starting to feel deliciously tipsy, her worries over her friend and Klaus slowly melting away. At the moment, she was talking to the Chief of Police, her mother's boss, and a good friend of the family. Or rather, he was talking, and she was emptying the contents of her champagne flute.

Turning her head, she accidentally met Klaus's heated gaze, as he stared at her from across the giant ballroom. Caroline yanked her gaze away immediately. God, what was his problem, anyway? She supposed it was natural for him to have it out for her, since she'd basically threatened him in his office earlier, but it was more than that. It was like he was waiting for he to _do _something. Just when she was sorely tempted to march across the room and ask him, point blank, to stop staring at her like a piece of meat in a blue dress, Tyler's hand on her arm forced her thoughts back to the others around her. "Chief, do you mind if I borrow her for a second?" he asked, smiling politely. Without waiting for a response, Tyler was dragging her to the side.

"Tyler!' Caroline squealed in protest, ' what's wrong with you?"

Tyler leaned into her, speaking softly in her ear so they wouldn't be overheard. "Don't show any reaction to what I'm about to tell you. Klaus is watching."

"Isn't he usually?" Caroline snorted. Tyler's hand on her arm tightened. He was painfully conscious of the eyes continuously trained on his fiancé'.

"Yes, and as much as I'd like to knock him flat for it, we have more important things to talk about. Care, Bonnie's been in an accident."

Caroline felt her eyes widen, and she barely managed to stifle a gasp. "What? What happened?" she asked just as softly, going into district attorney mode.

"Someone cut the brake lines on her car while she was in the pharmacy. She ended up colliding with a parked car."

"Is she ok?" Caroline whispered. She was perilously close to losing it, but managed to hold onto the calm expression she'd pasted on her face.

Tyler shook his head, looking pained. "I don't know much else, just that she's been admitted to the emergency room."

Caroline was so wrapped up in her conversation with Tyler that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a different hand on her arm, the one not being held by Tyler. Startled, she looked up sharply, relieved to find that it was only Ric, looking tense. As opposed to who it could have been.

"Have either one of you heard from Elena recently? She's not answering her phone." Tyler and Caroline both shook their heads in denial.

Ric looked even more worried. "We have another problem-I tried paging the policemen assigned to watch Elena tonight, and there hasn't been any response."

"I think we should head over there," Tyler said.

"What about Bonnie?" Caroline asked.

"I've already called Jamie; he's on the way to the hospital, as we speak," Ric interjected. "I'll go get our coats; the sooner we can get through the city traffic, the better."

Caroline and Tyler's eyes met. They both knew that something was very wrong. Caroline found herself searching the room for Klaus, but the crowd had swallowed him. The place where he had been standing was empty. He was gone.

TBC

**Note: Before y'all get too excited, this does NOT automatically mean that Damon and Elena are a couple. Damon is still, as this chapter suggests, very dark and damaged. However, I couldn't resist throwing in a wee bit of sexual tension to stir the pot. **

**Sorry, but some chapters will probably be long, while others may be comparatively short. I'm still working on plot details as I go. Please review! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Glad to see everyone liked the kiss. I hadn't planned on writing it yet, it just sort of got put in, but every relationship has to start somewhere, right?**

**On another note, thanks to everyone still paying attention to this story! You inspire me to keep writing! **

**P.S. (Glad you see Caroline as a total badass, that's what I was going for :)**

* * *

It had all happened so fast. One minute he was hurting her, threatening her life at gunpoint, the next he had pinioned her arms within his grasp, and was _kissing _her. She hadn't had time to cry out, struggle, or resist him in the slightest. She was battered, bruised, and tired of fighting. Her head was swimming. Even worse, now that it was happening, she couldn't find it in her to stop him. Her brain had seemingly disconnected from her body, and after the initial shock of the feel of his lips on hers, she was kissing him back. As he felt her response, his hands let go of her arms to grip her waist, and pull her closer, until their bodies were flush against each other. Elena gasped at the feeling, Damon using the opportunity to introduce his tongue to the inside of her delectable mouth, both of them moaning in synchronization. His hands roamed lower, gripping her hips, and pulling her up towards him. Elena responded by wrapping her arms around his neck, reveling in the feel of his silky hair under her fingers, and unconsciously grinding against him as she did so. The kisses were growing desperate; he was slowly backing her against the garage freezer. With a jolt, Elena realized that unless she stopped him, he might very well take her right there and then. Desperately, she forced her brain to think of the reasons why she should stop this madness. She didn't even know his _name_! He'd tried to kill her less than twenty minutes ago! He'd killed god knows how many people, including her _parents_! Her last thought struck a chord deep within her, and pulled her back from the edge of the cliff she'd been perilously close to falling over. Oh, hell. How had she forgotten that? What was wrong with her? Why was it all she wanted was to keep kissing this obviously very screwed-up man with the raven hair and gorgeous eyes? Elena forced herself to envision her parents' murder, which finally gave her the strength to push Damon away from her.

For what seemed like the hundredth time that night, they were left facing each other, both panting hard. His eyes were at least three shades darker than they had been before, and he looked...bemused. Almost vulnerable. Elena had no idea what expression she wore. She had a vague sensation of pain, and a tingling sensation of unwanted desire that hadn't quite faded yet. Other than that, she felt numb. Damon, for his part, was struggling to control the urge to pull her back into his arms. He was shocked at how she'd responded to his kiss, even more shocked at how _he _had responded. For the first time in five years, he'd turned off his brain, his survive-by-instinct-alone mantra, and simply let himself feel. It had felt amazing. She had felt amazing. To him, she looked beautiful. Flushed, with kiss-swollen lips, and just a plain-swollen chin, she may have looked stunned, traumatized, pained, and disheveled to anyone else, but to Damon, she was still the most glorious creature he'd ever seen in his miserable existence. He took a step towards her, but halted as she shook her head at him.

"Don't touch me. You disgust me. Who the hell are you?"

Damon paused, clenching his jaw against the irrational hurt he felt at her words. He had really lost control of himself. Inwardly steeling himself, and replacing the unwanted feelings with his usual inhuman mask, he forced himself to sound indifferent. "Don't you know?"

Elena almost laughed at the familiar line. "Don't start that again,' then, seeing confusion flash across his face, she continued hastily, 'I want some answers."

Damon smirked at her. "I really don't think you're in a position to demand anything."

"We'll see." Elena half-turned away from him, staring at something on the floor behind them, Damon following her gaze. In perfect unison, they both dove for the gun at the same time. Despite her injuries, Elena managed to reach the gun a split second before he did. He reached for her legs, only to receive a painful kick in the face. While he momentarily faltered, she was already halfway across the garage. To his surprise, she didn't make a run for it, stopping when she reached the opposite end of the garage. She leveled the gun at him, hands shaking slightly. Now that the length of the room was between them, she was able to breathe easier.

"Now,' she said, praying her voice wouldn't wobble, 'I'm in a position to demand something, so I'd like some answers, please."

Damon stared at her incredulously. Klaus really underestimated this girl. He decided to play it cool. "You should put that thing down before you hurt yourself," he replied, daring to take a step in her direction. He jumped back swiftly when a bullet pinged past his foot.

Elena's eyes were sparkling with anger. "My best friend's mother happens to be the sheriff. She took Caroline and I to the range several times when we were growing up. I always had excellent aim, so I suggest you don't make any sudden movements."

"Not to point out the obvious, but you missed me," Damon replied dryly. He briefly contemplated charging her, and then quickly dismissed the notion. This was getting far too interesting to risk getting shot by his own target.

"That was a warning shot." Elena sounded smug. "Now, I'll ask the questions, you answer the questions. Understand?" To emphasize her point, she cocked the hammer menacingly.

She wasn't fooling around, Damon could see that. It was obvious she meant to make him regret his earlier words. He nodded briefly, tersely, to show he understood. If she expected more than that, well, tough. There was only so much an assassin would take, and he was no exception.

To his relief, she accepted his nod as acceptable confirmation, and moved on.

"First, let's start with your name.

"It's –uh, Sanchez, Mark Sanchez," he lied.

"Did Klaus Mikaelson send you here to kill me, Mr. Sanchez?"

Damon smirked at her. "I think you know the answer to that one already."

"I would expect nothing less from that parasite, I suppose."

"Neither would I," he said quietly.

Elena looked surprised at this, but didn't comment on it. "What do you know about the information in the folder Klaus wants you to fetch?"

Damon winced inwardly at the word _fetch_. "All Klaus told me was that he wanted the folder, and that he'd double my usual rate if I got it and erg-took care of you."

"So he didn't say anything about what was inside?" Elena pressed.

Damon shook his head. "I asked, but he wouldn't tell me anything."

"Good." Elena looked pleased he didn't know, he noted irritably. He'd about had enough of this interrogation.

"Anything else?" his voice was gruff.

To his complete surprise, Elena suddenly couldn't meet his eyes. Was she blushing? She cleared her throat, opened her mouth, and then closed it again, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. Finally, she met his gaze as if it pained her. Her doe-eyes were full of some emotion Damon couldn't even begin to fathom.

"Why did you save me?" the words were soft, but he heard them. Now it was his turn to look away. He might have known she'd ask him this; the problem was, he had no idea how to answer her. He didn't want to answer her.

"You could have just left me there, or killed me. It would have been easier,' Elena continued when it became apparent he wasn't going to reply, 'that stupid jock would have been blamed, and everyone would have gotten what they wanted. So why did you bother saving me?"

He continued staring at some point in the distance. "I don't know," he whispered after a full minute had passed in silence. He looked up to see Elena was crying again. Damn.

"That's it? You don't know? After all you've put me through, you honestly have no idea why you saved me?"

"Quit saying I saved you, Elena!" he yelled at her, "Does this (he gestured around them) look like me saving you? I'm supposed to kill you, and find some stupid folder, not stand around and chitchat about the importance of feelings."

He could see his harsh words had hit home. The moment of 'vulnerable Elena' had passed.

"Fine,' she snapped, 'then, why did you kiss me?"

"Why did you shove your tongue down my throat when I did?"

"Why did you call me Katherine?"

Damon paused. Had he called her Katherine?

"Old lover?" Elena asked mockingly.

"None of your business."

Elena waved the gun in the air. "I think _this _says it's my bus-" she broke off suddenly, her eyes widening. She was looking at something directly behind him.

Damon snorted. Did she really think he was that stupid? She'd already pulled one over on him once tonight.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?"

The sarcastic voice came from directly behind Damon. He turned slowly to face the intruders. The man in front was the one who had spoken. He was handsome with dark chestnut hair and brown eyes; however, his eyes and mouth were cruel. A hugely muscled dark-haired man, and another man with lighter brown hair, and a serene expression accompanied him. They were all carrying tommy guns.

"Kol," Damon greeted him calmly. "Mason, Elijah,' he addressed the men flanking Kol in turn, 'to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Klaus had some concerns about you fulfilling the terms of this mission, and sent me to make sure everything was 'neat and tidy'. I told him he was being stuffy and that you could handle it, but considering what we just walked in on, I'm starting to think I owe my brother an apology."

Damon stiffened, and glanced at Elena, who had yet to utter a word since the trio's arrival. He noticed she was now holding the gun limply at her side as if she didn't have the strength to hold it up anymore. "I assure you gentlemen that everything will be carried out due to Klaus's instructions."

"Really,' Kol sneered, 'I think you've wasted enough time already. It's time to let the big boys handle things, Salvatore."

"Salvatore?" Elena spoke for the first time angrily. "Is that your real name, then?"

Before Damon could reply, Kol cut him off, laughing loudly. "Do you mean to tell me, that the infamous Damon Salvatore didn't take credit for his work, for once? I'm shocked."

"Shut up, Kol," Damon muttered through his teeth, only making Kol laugh harder.

"Boss,' Mason spoke up, 'Klaus just texted to say that Forbes and her posse are headed over here with a police escort. We need to wrap things up here."

Kol's face darkened immediately. "Right, then. Mason, get rid of the girl, Elijah and I will take care of the policemen's bodies outside,' he sent a lascivious glance at Damon as he said this, 'and Salvatore can find this envelope or whatever, that my brother is so desperate for."

"Wait!" Damon interjected, as Mason started toward Elena, who still hadn't moved. "We need the girl alive to tell us where the information is; it'll take too long for us to tear the house apart looking for it."

Kol studied Damon thoughtfully with narrowed eyes. "I suppose you're right,' he conceded after a moment, 'all right, Salvatore, Gilbert, and I will get the folder; Elijah and Mason, go outside and perform cleanup." The two men nodded, and swiftly disappeared.

Kol walked over to Elena, and pried the gun from her hands without resistance. Elena seemed to be in shock. "All right, sweetheart, lead the way," he said gently. She didn't move.

Kol considered her for a minute, and then, without warning, slapped her across the face. Damon had to physically restrain himself from going to her aid, but he knew better when Kol was around. Kol was a bloodhound for weaknesses, and he was, if possible, even better at what he did (which was mostly Klaus's dirty work) than Damon was.

"Show us where the folder is now, or I'll finish what I started with your little friend Bonnie," he snarled in her face.

Elena was immediately alert. "Bonnie! What did you do to her?" she screamed at him.

Kol grinned. "Don't worry, she's a little banged up, but she'll be fine.' He looked at Elena meaningfully, 'at least, she will be if you cooperate."

Kol had her there, Damon knew. Elena's one downfall was her compassion. Elena's shoulders sagged in defeat, and robotically, she began to walk towards the garage door that led back into the kitchen, Kol motioning for Damon to walk with her so he could cover the both of them from the back. She quietly led them through the kitchen, down a hallway, and up the stairs to a small study crammed with bookshelves. Upon entering the small room, Elena immediately went a shelf in the back, and pulled an ordinary looking book from the shelves. It wasn't just an ordinary book, however, Damon realized, but a hollowed-out book. It was an ingenious, if not somewhat commonplace hiding spot. It even had a combination lock, similar to that of a safe. Elena withdrew a small, beige folder from the nook. It had a heavy wax seal emblazoned on the front, the emblem of Mikaelson INC. Such seemingly small things for such important businessmen like Klaus Mikaelson to be worried about. It was funny, Damon thought to himself, how the two most valuable treasures in the city were standing right there in the room with him and Kol, the two possessions that nearly everyone, it seemed, were willing to pay any price for. _Wait a minute…_

Almost like he was in slow motion, he saw Elena holding out the folder to Kol, saw Kol's eyes glitter in triumph as he reached to take it from her, his tommy gun held carelessly under his other arm. Damon acted. Using the skills that had earned him quite the reputation in his field, Damon knocked the gun out from under Kol's arm, and hit Kol square in the back of the head with the butt, earning a scream from Elena. Kol fell to the floor with an animal yell, but Damon didn't spare him a second look. He snatched the folder with one hand, Elena's arm in the other, and prepared to get the hell out of dodge. He only hoped traffic would hold up the police from getting there too quickly.

Damon dragged Elena out of the room, down the stairs, and towards the front door. He figured it was the safest bet, since Mason and Elijah would most likely come in through the open garage door. He was wrong. They came through the front door just as he reached the foyer.

"What the –"Elijah began, but Damon wasn't going to stick around for conversation. He immediately fired a round of bullets towards the door, retreating back in the direction of the kitchen. The answering gunfire was tremendous, as Elijah and Mason both had heavy-duty weapons. Glass shattered. Pictures crashed to the floor. Damon shielded Elena with his body, thrusting the folder impatiently between his teeth. He didn't trust her enough to carry it; she might run out on him, screaming, in the middle of the street. In the next instant, he realized, Elena was too terrified to think at all. She clung to the back of his shirt like a koala, sobbing quietly, as round after round of gunfire was exchanged. Damon heard a faint curse, and hoped he'd managed to at least wound one of them. They were almost to the garage door now when Damon felt a sharp pain against his shoulder. A bullet had winged him. He swore, firing one more round before he was out.

After what seemed an eternity, they made it to the garage, and then out into the cool, clear night. Now, the only problem was getting to Damon's SUV which he'd parked nearly a block away to avoid suspicion. Thankfully, there was a line of trees that would provide them good cover. He was still gripping Elena's arm, and she was still clinging to his shirt, the file folder safely lodged in his mouth. Maybe he was a messenger, after all. More like a golden retriever who decided not to bring back the stick. The SUV was now in sight; he couldn't detect any sounds of pursuit, and came to the conclusion that Mason and Elijah had most likely waited to help Kol, and to get further orders. He was starting to hear sirens in the distance; it was time to go.

Just as they came to the car, Elena collapsed completely, Damon managing to catch her right before she hit the ground. "Shit, Elena," he complained softly. He managed to settle her in the passenger seat before seating himself in the driver's seat. He pointed the car in the opposite direction the wailing sirens were coming from, and floored it. One thing he knew for sure: they needed to get out of Chicago, right now, and FAST.

* * *

**Sorry it took me so long to update! I had to decide where I wanted things to go from here. Now that Damon has decided to virtually kidnap Elena and Klaus's much-needed information, they are on the run together (much to Elena's initial displeasure). Next chapter will deal with Elena's friends' reaction to the night's events, continuance of Delena, and maybe some more secrets revealed… if you follow and review, of course. J**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know, I know, I suck for not updating sooner. College has started up for me again, so I'm going to have to update just once a week now. I'll try to make them worth the wait :) and if I can update faster, I will. Also, I owe an apology to Jazzmie01 for telling her that I'd be updating Sunday. I was planning to, but technical difficulties prevailed :( A BIG THANK YOU to everyone following and reviewing. I think I have somewhere along the lines of 16 faves now, so thanks for the support! Love ya'll!**

** Note: In this story, Mason and Tyler are not related, and Sheriff Forbes is not the same character as the 'Chief' mentioned earlier. Just in case you were confused about where I was going with that.**

* * *

Thanks to Caroline's multiple connections in the police department, she, Tyler, and Ric were given several squad cars as escorts on their way out of the city. _Thank god it was the Policemen's Ball, and not the Senior Center's Fundraiser, _Caroline thought with a flash of her usual fire, as Tyler careened around another curve in the road. She readjusted her death grip on the seat belt strap, and glanced back at Ric, who shot her a somewhat queasy smile from the backseat. Alaric tended to get carsick, and she knew Tyler's colorful driving skills weren't helping. However, Caroline and Ric both had no intention of telling him to slow down; this was a life or death situation, and every second counted.

After what seemed an interminable amount of time, but was in actuality much faster than they'd ever reached Elena's home from the city before, they were turning into the driveway, the police cars wailing alongside them.

Caroline gasped. The house looked like it had been hit by a tornado. The garage door was wide open, as was the front door. Several windows on the first floor were broken, and Caroline could see splintered wood everywhere she looked.

"Christ," Ric muttered. "This doesn't look good."

Caroline wasn't listening. Almost before the car stopped moving, she was out, running towards the house, screaming Elena's name. She could hear Tyler shouting after her, and was vaguely aware that he and Ric and several policemen were following in her wake, but it didn't matter. She could feel that they were too late. She stopped just inside the front door. If Elena's body was somewhere in this rubble that was once a cheerfully decorated foyer, she didn't want to be the one to find her. Her voice died in her throat, and she turned blindly, to find Tyler right behind her. Her eyes filled as they met his warm brown ones.

"I can't go any farther, Ty," she whispered. He nodded in understanding, and held her as she cried and buried her face in his chest. They stayed that way as policemen swarmed the house. Ric followed them, shouting questions. Several minutes passed in chaos and confusion until Caroline's mother pulled them aside. Caroline hadn't even noticed her arrive, but was glad she was there. All of a sudden she felt like a little girl again, instead of the steely district attorney most people saw her as. "Is Elena-"she began, but her mother shook her head.

"We haven't found any bodies other than Sergeant Walters and Davidson's, the poor recruits. There's some blood, and signs of a struggle in the kitchen and garage, and the house is pretty torn up from what seems to be heavy duty gunfire, but that's it so far."

"Do you think there's a chance they took her alive?" Tyler asked hopefully.

Sheriff Forbes shook her head wearily. "At this point, it could be a possibility, but who knows? It doesn't seem likely they would take her body with them; it doesn't fit the M.O.

Guys! Over here, I think I found something!" Ric hollered from the direction of the living room. Caroline, Tyler, and the Sheriff hurried over to where he stood beside a broken window.

"Look at this window,' he said, pointing to the frame. 'Someone forced the latch open before it was broken."

Sheriff Forbes took a closer look at where he pointing. "You're right," she agreed. "But why break the window once you're already in?"

"Unless there were two separate break-ins," Caroline chimed in softly.

"But, wait! There's more," Ric interrupted impatiently. "Look at this." He motioned to Bonnie's favorite potted plant, which was still miraculously intact. Caroline, Tyler, and Liz Forbes all leaned in simultaneously to where Ric was pointing.

"A footprint!" Caroline gasped. Now they were getting somewhere.

* * *

Elena came back to consciousness slowly, fighting it all the way. Her head still ached, but it wasn't intolerable like it had been before. In fact, she felt nice. Warm, even. She was so comfortable she didn't want to open her eyes, so she kept them closed. She smiled to herself when she heard the soft thrums of one of her favorite songs, the Civil Wars' "Poison and Wine". Bonnie always had her iPod on in the morning; she knew it was the best way to get Elena out of bed. _Bonnie. _Elena felt herself frowning. Something wasn't right, something to do with Bonnie; she just couldn't put her finger on what it was, exactly. And her bed felt wrong, too. It almost felt like she was sitting up, and the bed was _moving_ under her. Weird. Elena felt uneasy. All of a sudden, everything felt different somehow, wrong. It was like the atmosphere was filled with a sort of electricity instead of the tranquility she usually felt when she was snuggled underneath her bed covers. She needed to open her eyes, but she didn't want to. Okay, on the count of three: one…two…three…NOW. Elena forced her heavy eyelids open a crack, and then immediately slammed them shut. Reality was rushing in, too fast and too terrifying. Bonnie, Caroline, the folder, her phone, guns, blood, someone named Kol, Damon. _Damon._

Eyes flying open, Elena sat up with a gasp. A strong hand instantly pushed her back down in her seat, but she paid no heed to it. She needed to confirm her surroundings first. She was in a car, an actual moving vehicle; the radio instead of Bonnie's iPod was playing in the background, and a raven-haired, blue-eyed man was in the driver's seat. The scenery rushing by outside was unfamiliar. It looked like the country. The hand was still on her arm. Elena deliberately relaxed back into her seat. She knew what he was capable of; for all she knew, she was riding to her own death. Might as well get some answers in the process. Turning slightly sideways in her seat so she could face him, Elena spoke slowly. "Where am I?"

Damon kept his eyes on the road. Elena noticed he still hadn't looked at her, even though his arm was still flung across her warningly. Just when she thought he wouldn't answer, her glanced at her, his expression veiled. "Georgia," he answered, enunciating all three syllables.

"Ha, ha, very funny. Where are we really?" Elena snapped.

"No, _really, _we're in Georgia. Nearing Atlanta, to be specific."

With a jerk, Elena shrugged his arm off. "Stop the car."

He ignored her. Elena saw red.

"I said, stop the fucking car, NOW!"

"Elena-"

"Please, Damon,' Elena's voice cracked, 'I believe you, just please stop the car. I need some air."

To her surprise, Damon obeyed her instantly, pulling over to the side of what seemed like a deserted back road in the middle of nowhere. Elena struggled out of the car, leaning against the doorframe for support. Her head now felt like it was filled with cotton, and her legs were rubbery. She inhaled the sweet, country air, and felt her legs give way. Before she could fall, strong arms caught her, and supported her waist. She looked up to find those amazing ocean-blue eyes looking into hers. "You're fading fast, take it easy," he said softly.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, ignoring the concern in his voice. She wanted to push him away, but her body wasn't cooperating.

He sighed, propping her against the car, and taking a step back. "I suppose, seeing as we're stuck with each other for the moment, I might as well let you know the gist of it all."

"Very considerate of you," Elena replied sarcastically.

He smirked at her before continuing. "We've been on the road for almost three days now. You've been in and out pretty much the whole time. I had to make a pit stop in Tennessee to get you some meds and bandages,' he gestured to her face, and Elena realized for the first time that her chin was wrapped in a medical bandage, ' and now, since I basically just put a major glitch on Klaus's plans, we're going to go meet an arms dealer I know in Atlanta. Hopefully, he'll have a place where we can hide out for a while."

Elena's mind was whirling with questions, one of which was why in the world he'd take her to an _arms dealer_ for protection, but she had to ask him the most important one first. "Why did you kidnap me instead of letting them kill me? Hell, why didn't you kill me?"

Damon looked away, his face turning stony. "Klaus isn't my favorite person either, believe it or not."

Elena snorted. "You're a hit man supposed to get rid of me, and you let me live because your conscience hurt," her voice was scornful. "Pardon me if I don't believe your brand of bullshit."

Damon whirled to face her again so fast it seemed inhuman. "No, Elena, ' he spat, 'I don't have a conscience. But I figured you would be worth quite a bit more to Klaus alive if _I_ have you and the folder. He and countless others might be willing to pay a very substantial sum."

"You're holding me for ransom, then."

"More or less, whatever you want to call it,"

"So you're just in this for the cash?"

"And to make Klaus squirm," he grinned.

"You're despicable," Elena snapped.

He leaned closer to her, so close their noses almost touched. Elena's breath hitched in her throat. "Yet, when I kissed you, you didn't seem at all repulsed. Dare I say you were even…aroused"?

Elena sputtered incoherently before once again his mouth was on hers. Despite herself, Elena responded for an instant, until reason made her push him away from her violently. "Quit kissing me!" she hissed before stalking away from him, ignoring both the sounds of his laughter and her traitorous pounding heart.

* * *

Flashback*

_"Quit kissing me, Damon, I have to go to work!" Katherine laughed up at him, as he playfully tried to pull her back to the bed she'd recently vacated._

_"You're always working lately," Damon complained. Katherine smiled, gave him a lusty kiss, and resumed pulling on her scattered clothes._

_"Someone has to, since you got laid off last month," she reminded him._

_Damon fake-pouted at his fiancé'. "It's not my fault I'm not qualified enough for those snotty accounting executives. Father wanted to promote Stefan, anyway. Anything to watch me suffer." Damon heard the bitterness in his own voice, and cursed himself for showing Katherine how much his father's decision had affected him._

_Katherine's eyes softened momentarily, and then hardened again. "At least Stefan finished college, Damon. It's not his fault he has more experience than you."_

_"Oh, go to work, and quit lecturing me," he grumbled, burying his face in his pillow. _

_Katherine sighed. "Fine, I'll see you later."_

_Later that night…_

_Damon felt guilty for snapping at Katherine. After all, she did have a point. He needed to find another job soon if they wanted to keep the apartment they were in now. He decided to surprise Katherine at work with flowers to apologize. He strode into the smoky downtown-Chicago bar, and motioned to the bartender, Steven. "Where's Katherine?" Damon yelled over the deafening music._

_"Hey, Damon, I think she's in the back," he shouted back._

_"Can I?" Damon motioned to the flowers he held in his hand. Steven smiled in understanding, and motioned for Damon to join him behind the counter. "Go on back."_

_Damon clapped him on the back in thanks, and hurried into the dimly lit back area where waitresses usually congregated only to stop short. The flowers fell from his fingers, and lay forgotten on the dirty floor. Katherine was in the corner making out with…his brother Stefan?_

_"Katherine, what the hell?" his voice didn't sound like his own. Katherine and Stefan jumped and faced him guiltily. However, he noticed they didn't step away from each other. There was deafening silence. Damon could only stare at them, shock and hurt evident on his face. Stefan wouldn't look at his brother, choosing instead to stare at the floor. Finally, Katherine stepped forward to face Damon._

_"I'm sorry, Damon, I should have told you earlier, but I love Stefan, and I want to be with him."_

_"How long have you been sneaking around behind my back with my baby brother?" Damon replied harshly. Katherine didn't even blink. "A few months."_

_Damon held out his hand. Without hesitation, Katherine took of her engagement ring, and placed it in the center of his palm,_

_"I guess money does matter to you after all, huh, Katherine," Damon whispered. To his horror, his voice cracked at the end._

_Katherine gave a strange little half-smile in return as if his heartbreak amused her. "Goodbye and good riddance, Damon."_

_In a daze of pain and rage, Damon turned to leave; changing his mind, he whirled suddenly, and punched his brother square in the face. Stefan fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Katherine screamed and fell beside him, cradling his bloodied face in her arms. She looked up to meet Damon's eyes. He was like a stranger. Gone was the sweet, polite man she'd always known. In his place was a cold stranger with a cruel, frenzied light in his eyes._

_"You have two hours to get all your crap out of my apartment,' he spoke slowly, 'and then, I never want to see you or my worthless brother again. You can curl up and die, for all I care."_

_He left then, without another glance at either of them. Little did he know his wish would be granted less than a month after he spoke his last words to Katherine. She and Stefan were involved in a car wreck when a drunk driver ran a stoplight, and were both killed on impact. After the funerals, where Damon was forced to console his grieving father, Damon shut down. His last words to Katherine and his brother's broken face haunted him day and night. Deep down, he knew he still loved Katherine; he had never stopped loving the manipulative bitch no matter how much he tried. He missed Stefan too, although in a twisted sense, felt that fate had revenged him on his brother's behalf. His only escape from his thoughts was alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. He drank himself into a stupor night after night, until the one night where he made what he now realized was the biggest mistake of his life. He went back to the bar where Katherine used to work. It wasn't a conscious decision; he was already there before he remembered getting in his car. He was sitting on a barstool allowing Steven to refill his glass for the umpteenth time, when an impeccably dressed man seated himself next to him._

_"Damon Salvatore, I presume?" the man had a heavy British accent, and his blue eyes were strangely penetrating as they waited for a response._

_Damon gulped down his drink, and unsteadily returned the glass to the counter, motioning for Steven to refill his glass. Steven shook his head. "You've had enough, buddy."_

_"Give him a bottle on me," the stranger piped up._

_"Who the hell are you?" Damon slurred, trying to focus his eyes into seeing just one man instead of three._

_"I'm the person going to give you back your life,' the stranger replied with a smile, 'the name's Klaus Mikaelson. And you're Damon Salvatore."_

_"How do you know my name?"_

_Klaus chuckled. "Oh, I know a great deal more than that. For instance, I know you're overwhelmed with guilt over the deaths of your brother and your girlfriend. Your emotions are eating you alive. I'm giving you a chance to never have to feel that type of pain again, to be in control, to be the inflictor instead of the inflicted."_

_"If you're a shrink, you can just go psychoanalyze someone else," Damon replied rudely, reaching for the bottle Steven had just arrived with. Before he could reach it, a strong hand clamped down on his arm. Klaus's eyes had gone black. Damon stilled despite himself. This guy meant business._

_"I'm here to offer you a job. I see a lot of potential in you."_

_Damon shrugged his hand off, and looked Klaus full in the face, the bottle temporarily forgotten. "What kind of job?"_

_Klaus's grin widened. "A job where you can make yourself useful, mate."_

* * *

Damon forced himself back to the present with a snap. He didn't want to remember the old days when he'd been so stupid and desperate that he'd agreed to anything Klaus wanted. Things were different now. He was older, and maybe not all that wiser, but definitely more experienced. He glanced at Elena out of the corner of his eye. They'd been back on the road for almost an hour now, and they had spent that time in absolute silence. Elena hated him, he could see that (and after all that had happened to her in the past few days, he could understand), but, a smug part of him thought, she's also attracted to me. When he kissed her, it was electric. Magnetic. Like stars going nova. Then again, he frowned to himself, he _had_ made sure she was heavily medicated…oh, whatever. It didn't really matter. Nevertheless, one thing he was beginning to acknowledge to himself was that Elena clearly resembled Katherine only in a physical sense. She'd shown a bravery and ferocity that Katherine had never had. She also seemed to genuinely care about the people in her life, willing to sacrifice her life for her friends as she'd shown when Kol had shown up. Nothing like the selfish Katherine who was only interested in what pleased her.

"Damon?" At the sound of his name passing from Elena's lips, he was jolted once again out of his thoughts. He kept his eyes firmly on the road.

"Yes?"

"Where's the folder?"

"In a safe place."

"If I'm stuck with you, you might as well tell me."

He shook his head no. "You're welcome to search me for it, though," he teased.

Elena rolled her eyes, but changed the subject. "Are we almost there? I'm tired of sitting."

"We're already there," he replied, jerking the wheel sharply. Elena fell against the seat with a curse, realizing that they had turned onto a deeply rutted dirt road that was nearly invisible from the main road.

"Don't your friends know about paving?" she asked sarcastically, evoking a laugh from Damon.

They drove for what must have been nearly half a mile before they emerged into a clearing lined by woods. A ramshackle cabin was situated in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by an even more run-down barn that looked on the verge of collapse. Various scraps of metal were interspersed here and there with weeds taller than Elena. Elena felt like she had been transported into the _Swamp People _reality show she'd been watching on television earlier that week.

To her surprise, Damon backed the Range Rover in with the front pointing back in the direction of the road before parking. Seeing her questioning look, he smiled grimly. "You never know when you'll have to make a hasty retreat," he explained.

"Are you sure anyone even lives here?" Elena asked doubtfully. There were no signs of life from inside the cabin, or the barn, as far as she could see.

"He lives here, all right." Damon got out of the car, Elena on his heels.

Damon reached for her hand, and without thinking, Elena clasped it with her own. He held her tightly, and pulled her a little ways behind him. "Stay close, and keep quiet," he ordered in a monotone. At this point, Elena was apprehensive enough that she obeyed him, and let him lead her cautiously forward. They reached the porch steps of the cabin without incident. Damon had just put his foot on the bottom step, when there was a sharp _ping; _he had accidentally set off a trip wire that was stretched across the step horizontally. Before Elena had time to react, Damon was throwing her to the ground, and sprawling on top of her, pulling her under the shelter of his body. Loud explosions erupted from all around them, and dirt was flying. After several minutes, the explosions, which Elena realized belatedly were miniature grenades, subsided. Damon was still lying on top of her, and her face was squashed into the dirt. Manic laughter rang out from the top of the porch, and Elena looked up to see the strangest man she'd ever seen in her whole life standing there.

He was dressed head to toe in camouflage, and was wearing a deer head for a hat. He was surprisingly young and might have been good-looking if it weren't for his haggard face, and demented, slightly unhinged expression. To top it all off, he was carrying a machinegun, and had fishing lines of ammo strung around his neck like a necklace.

"Goddammit, Shane!" Damon was on his feet now, disgustedly brushing the dust from his otherwise all black ensemble. After a moment, Elena nervously followed his lead, and stood beside him, wiping the grime out of her eyes.

The man Damon had called Shane lowered the machinegun slightly. "Damon Salvatore in the flesh! Come for the crawdad fishing?"

"Actually, Damon replied, I came because Klaus-"

"Klaus!" Shane growled, pointing the machinegun at Damon's chest.

Damon lifted his hands in a calm-down gesture. "I'm not here to kill you, Shane, I need your help,' then jerking his head towards Elena, 'actually, _we _need your help."

Shane glanced at Elena as if he hadn't noticed her before, and then reluctantly lowered the gun again. "Let's hear it," he sighed.

Damon quickly explained the situation, leaving out specific details about the importance of the folder, Elena noted with approval. When he was finished, Shane visibly relaxed. "Glad to know you've liberated yourself from that swine, even if he is one of my best customers," he smiled. Dropping his gun on the porch carelessly, he jogged forward, embracing Damon, who awkwardly clapped him on the back. Then, turning to Elena, he took her hand with a flourish. "Atticus Shane's the name, explosives, armory, and crawdad fishing's my game. You're welcome to stay as long as you like."

"Thank you," Elena responded politely, darting a glance at Damon, who looked amused. This man was seriously weird.

Damon cleared his throat. "Shane here was one of Klaus's guinea pigs when Klaus first started marketing drugs into Mexico. He was given daily doses of LSD and heroin for three years. That is, until he went into arms dealing."

Elena tried to hide her shock. "In that case, she replied calmly, 'he looks fantastic." Then, suddenly, she was laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. In the past four days, she'd been a target for homicide, beaten, kidnapped, ransomed, and was now relying on the protection of an ex-druggie arms dealer with explosive mood swings, and her unpredictable assassin with the amazing eyes. Nobody would ever believe it.

TBC

* * *

**Please give me a review and let me know if you love it? Hate it? Any suggestions?**

**Coming up next… Elena and Damon figure out their next moves, Klaus gets frustrated, the search for Elena is on, and what is in that pesky folder just might be revealed. Maybe. **

**(I realize there's a bit of a time gap in between the first part of the chapter, and Elena and Damon's journey. Hope that wasn't confusing.)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for my recent lack of updates but college is kicking my butt! I only got five reviews for my last chapter :( so I'm not sure if you guys are liking this or not. I have a clear idea of where I want this story to go, but I am influenced by suggestions…just saying**

* * *

Of all the Mikaelson siblings, Klaus was definitely the one with the worst reputation. It wasn't just his business dealings; no, his troubles had started long before that. Specifically, when he'd started junior high, and the rumor that he was not his father's son by blood and was the result of a one-night stand his mother had had, spread around. So Klaus did what any other vulnerable preteen would do: he didn't just get mad, he got even. By the time high school rolled around, the only rumors swirling about Klaus Mikaelson were the horror stories of how he had achieved his bad boy status. And they were all true. He was ruthless in business, he had little interest in romantic encounters (although he did admire DA Caroline Forbes's spirit) and he was downright dangerous when he thought someone was double-crossing him. Breaches of trust were unforgivable in his eyes.

Klaus's siblings were no strangers to his wrath either. This was evident as Klaus paced the length of his massive office, pausing only to sear a heavily bandaged Kol with the fury of his hooded gaze. The fact that his brother could barely walk, had a knot the size of a picket fence on his head, and a split lip were of no concern to him; there were more pressing matters at hand. Kol shifted nervously in his seat with a grimace, waiting for his brother to speak. All this pacing couldn't be good for his health. Behind Kol, Elijah and Mason stood, neither one looking any better than Kol. Elijah was sagging on crutches due to a bullet to the stomach, and Mason's right arm was in a sling. That damn Salvatore had good aim.

"So!' Klaus boomed suddenly, causing the three facing him to jump, 'Damon ambushed you despite the fact that there were three of you and one of him, not to mention you were all heavily armed, took the Gilbert girl god knows where, gave you multiple wounds, and disappeared into the night with my only redeemable evidence _singlehandedly_, while you cowered in the corner like little girls?" There was a long pause. Klaus waited silently, his hands clasped behind his back. Finally, Elijah cleared his throat.

"In our defense, brother, he gave us no indication he meant to do anything but kill the girl, and grab the folder. Our orders were to simply collect the folder, if I recall."

Klaus growled. "Yes, one simple order, one _little task, _and you still failed to perform!" Elijah fell silent, and scowled at the ground.

"We were outside taking care of Salvatore's mess,' Mason piped up defensively, 'the policemen weren't going to bury themselves, and Kol said he'd go with Damon and the girl-"

"Shut up!" Klaus snapped, ending Mason's whining monologue. His irate gaze fell on Kol, who had yet to speak, and who was currently clutching his head in his hands. In one swift motion, Klaus had his younger brother by the collar.

"You fool, give me one reason why I shouldn't dagger you, and be done with it," Klaus hissed in his brother's terrified face, shaking him like a rag doll. "Do you realize what this means? The trial is days away, and I have no folder, no witness, and no assassin. What happened to peace, acceptance, family?"

Kol sniveled, and Klaus threw his brother from him in disgust. Kol dropped like a rock at his feet and stayed there. Klaus resumed his pacing. When he found Damon Salvatore, he was going to cut off his shooting arm, and then slowly…painfully…kill the son of a bitch. As soon as he found him, that is. Klaus was no fool, and he knew Damon wasn't either. He had probably skipped town, hell, maybe even the country for all he knew. _But why had he taken the girl alive?_ Blackmail and a hefty ransom, no doubt. Klaus felt a strong urge to throw something at the thought of his best assassin betraying him and blackmailing him for some meaningless girl… his best bottle of bourbon hit the far wall with a crash. The decanter followed, narrowly missing Elijah's head, as he and Mason dove for cover. Kol had yet to get up from the floor, the coward.

Klaus was just about to end the existence of a crystal paperweight when his office phone buzzed loudly, demanding his immediate attention. He'd told his secretary Rose to hold all his calls for the day, so this had better be an emergency. Unceremoniously, he slammed the paperweight back on his desk, and snatched the phone from the cradle. "What!" he yelled into the phone.

The timid voice of his secretary sounded from the other end of the line. "I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but Ms. Caroline Forbes is here, and she insists on seeing you immediately."

Klaus shut his eyes. Of course _she _was here. It was the perfect end to a perfect day. "Tell her I'm not in," he snapped.

There was a slight pause. He could voices arguing in the background. After a moment, Rose's voice came back on the line, sounding frightened. "I'm sorry, sir, but she insists. The police are with her…"

Before she'd finished the sentence, the door to his office flew open, and in strolled Caroline herself flanked by two men, one muscular and dark-haired, the other brown-haired and somewhat scruffy in appearance. Several police officers followed in their wake including, Klaus noticed with a pang, the Chief of Police and the local sheriff. "What's the meaning of this?" he asked, addressing Caroline.

Caroline had a murderous glint in her blue eyes as they locked with Klaus's cornflower gaze. "Klaus Mikaelson, by order of the Chicago Bureau of Investigation, I have a warrant for your arrest."

"What? Now wait a minute-" Klaus said, shocked, as two policemen advanced purposefully towards him. He glanced back at his men who had all righted themselves with difficulty, and were silently observing the chaos unfolding before them in a stupor.

"I warned you at our last meeting that should anything befall Ms. Gilbert prior to your trial date, there would be consequences," Caroline's harsh voice forced his attention back to her with a snap.

"I had nothing to do with that,' Klaus insisted, 'after all, we were both at the gala last night. I believe that gives me an airtight alibi. Even the Chief saw me there." The Chief in question harrumphed at this, but didn't reply.

To his surprise, Caroline nodded thoughtfully at him. "True,' she agreed, 'but quite a bit of evidence was found at the Gilbert residence that would suggest otherwise, including DNA matching that of your brothers and a certain Mason Lockwood. "

"Not to mention,' she continued breezily, 'the footprint we found."

"Footprint?" Klaus repeated. _Those idiots who work for me never said anything about a blasted footprint!_

"Results show they belong to a man by the name of Damon Salvatore, who just happens to be listed on your payroll. What _exactly _is his line of work?" Caroline's voice turned smug.

Klaus's jaw clenched. "I want my attorney."

"Certainly, Mr. Mikaelson," the man to Caroline's left, the dark-haired one, chimed in. "We've taken the liberty of notifying Rebekah Mikaelson of the circumstances, and she's on a plane from Paris, as we speak."

"Take him, boys," the scruffy-haired man to Caroline's right ordered. The policemen stepped forward, handcuffing Klaus quickly. As he was escorted past the DA and her posse, his rights being read to him, he made one last desperate plea.

"Just what is it that I'm being charged with here?"

Caroline leaned closer until she was almost nose-to-nose with the fallen CEO. His eyes widened the closer she got until the whites were visible all around.

"Don't worry,' she purred, 'we'll think of something."

* * *

"You want to do what?" Elena asked incredulously. She couldn't have heard him right. He couldn't possibly be serious.

"Make a kidnapping video," Damon repeated calmly. _Oh lord. He was serious_.

"Absolutely not!" Elena retorted. "It's bad enough I'm stuck out here in the middle of nowhere with you and MacGyver over there,' she gestured to Shane, who was currently in the middle of his living room playing an explosive video game, and snickering whenever he managed to blow someone up, 'but now you want me to humiliate myself just so I can make everyone at home even more worried about me? Nun-uh, not going to happen." She folded her arms across her chest, and glared past Damon out the dingy window of Shane's "kitchen" which was more like a closet with a gas range.

His cerulean eyes narrowed, and he took a menacing step closer to her. "I asked you first out of politeness (she snorted at this). I could just force you, might even look more real if I did."

Elena rolled her eyes at him. "I'm getting really tired of you threatening me, Damon."

He leaned even closer to her, invading her personal space. "And _I'm _getting really tired of your attitude, Elena. Like it or not, you're stuck with me for now. If you want to waltz out of here, and take your chances with Klaus's hit squad, fine by me. You'll end up dead, and so will everyone you care about in your pathetic, naïve little existence."

Elena's eyes filled with tears at his harsh words. "How dare you!' she spat, ignoring the flicker of remorse she thought she glimpsed in his face, 'this isn't _my _fault, it's _your _fault. You ruined everything, and I-" she trailed off, realizing her hands were placed on his chest where she had unconsciously been trying to shove him away from her. At her touch, he instantly stilled. Elena tried to ignore the sparks that seemed to be jumping between her hands and his chest, and hold onto her anger. _What was she mad about again?_

Shane's voice behind them made them both jump. "So, how's about some dinner?" He seemed oblivious to the tension in the room. Elena took the opportunity to gather her wits, and backed away from Damon, doing her best to avoid the eyes that never left hers.

"Is there someplace where I can get cleaned up first?" Elena asked Shane, gesturing to her grimy clothes, and doing her best to ignore Damon. She could feel him smirking at her, no doubt recalling tackling her into the dirt in the first place.

"Sure, right down the hall on your left,' Shane replied, 'I only have one bathroom, though, so don't take all day. When nature calls, nature calls."

"Um, thanks," Elena replied. She set off to the bathroom, determined to be in the shower no less than ten minutes tops. She was in desperate need of a cold shower.

* * *

"Has he talked yet?" Tyler asked, jarring Caroline from her thoughts. Caroline shook her head.

"I doubt he will, unless we get creative," she replied. Both of them glanced at the man in question who was sitting on the other side of a glass partition in the Mystic Falls police station. They could see _him,_ but he couldn't see _them._

I just feel like every minute waiting for Klaus to talk is another minute wasted. We're running out of time to find Elena, Ty. The only good thing that's come out of this is Judge Fell has agreed to delay the trial temporarily." Caroline sighed, and rubbed her eyes wearily as she thought over the past forty-eight hours.

"We'll find her, Care, with or without this bastard's help," Tyler replied, giving his girlfriend's shoulders a soothing squeeze.

To his surprise, Caroline shrugged out from under his grasp, and stepped away from him. "Tyler, there's something I have to do that you won't like, but I need you to trust me."

"Caroline-" Tyler began, but Caroline cut him off by cupping his face in her hands, and giving him a quick, fierce kiss. "I love you, Tyler, so please trust me, and promise me to not listen in when I go in to talk to Klaus."

Tyler frowned. "I don't like this."

Caroline smiled grimly. " Believe me, I don't either, but sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Will you promise me?"

Looking pained, Tyler nodded slowly. "Only because I love you, Caroline."

Klaus drummed his fingers on the metal tabletop in front of him, and tried his best not to panic. It was official: police stations creeped him out. He tried to avoid looking at the deceivingly empty glass wall in front of him. He could feel their eyes on him. He knew they were watching. He could only hope Rebekah hightailed her butt from the airport, and got there soon. The door opened, and Klaus straightened, ready for battle, and trying to appear calm and undisturbed. To his surprise, Caroline was the blonde that came through the door. Klaus opened his mouth to make a snarky comment, but the words died on his lips when he saw the expression on the DA's face. For maybe the first time in his life, Klaus felt true fear as the bombshell closed the door with an ominous click and advanced across the room towards him…

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the boondocks, Elena was facing a serious dilemma. Shane's 'bathroom' had to be the dirtiest thing she'd ever seen in her life. Elena sighed, and turned on the faucet, catching a glimpse of her grimy reflection in the cracked mirror over the sink. Well, at least there was indoor plumbing, she reasoned to herself, quickly washing her hands and face. Rooting reluctantly through a pile of dirty laundry scattered near the door, Elena found three stained shirts, a pair of jeans that had clearly seen better days, a bulletproof vest, a banana peel, and several pairs of dirty boxer briefs (Ew!) but no towel. "Seriously?!" she snapped out loud. After washing her hands thoroughly for the third time, Elena finally glimpsed a towel hanging from one of dilapidated shower rods. Of course, there was no way of knowing if it was clean or not…_it could be worse, it could be worse._ Elena repeated the mantra in her head as she stripped out of her sodden clothes, and wrapped her sore body in the towel, grimacing at the musty odor it emanated.

_It could be worse. It could be worse. It COULD be worse._ Gathering what remained of her courage, Elena took hold of the shower curtain, and in one motion, pulled it back. Only then did she start screaming.

Turns out she was right all along. It really could be worse.

"Wow!" Shane leaned back in his rickety armchair, stunned. "You weren't kidding when you said things were complicated. How did you get yourself mixed up in all this?"

Damon chuckled, and ran a hand over his stubble-covered face, dimly realizing he hadn't shaved for two days. "Well, I've told you the gist of it. I still don't understand most of it myself."

"What interests me is this mysterious folder everyone wants,' Shane continued, his eyes alight, 'have you looked inside?"

Damon shook his head. "I've been too busy trying to keep the Gilbert girl alive, not to mention keeping myself alive, after Klaus's thugs cornered us. It was hard enough keeping hold of the damn thing in the first place."

"Well, no time like the present," Shane leaned forward, rubbing his hands together like a mad scientist. Damon rolled his eyes at his friend, but handed him the folder. He was relieved that Shane hadn't asked him why he was bothering with Elena in the first place. _No need to get into that again._ Shane frowned as he scanned the contents of the folder.

"This doesn't make any sense," he muttered after a minute.

"What is it?" Damon leaned forward eagerly.

"It's a list of numbers, and what looks like a URL for a website, but everything's all jumbled up together, until you can't make heads or tails of what it's supposed to be."

"Do you still have access to that satellite dish?" Damon asked.

Shane nodded, still staring at the folder and what was inside. "I have coding equipment to decrypt and encrypt files on my laptop. It looks like we're going to need them."

Before Damon could reply, a piercing shriek erupted from the back of the house, sending both men rushing towards the origin of the racket.

* * *

**And that's where I'm going to end it for now… so, what does Caroline have in store for Klaus? Why is Elena screaming bloody murder? Will she ever be able to take a shower? And what are Damon and Shane going to discover? For all of you still reading, THANK YOU! I'm sorry to leave you hanging, but I'll update when I can. Finally, a big shout-out to swinty81 for making me the amazing graphic for my story-check her out on tumblr. You won't be disappointed! PLEASE REVIEW BECAUSE I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU J**


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